Bunker operators wary of Indonesian inspection

Bunker operators wary of Indonesian inspection

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Indonesian maritime authorities have boarded several tankers refueling outside Singapore port limits, saying the ships were in Indonesia's territorial waters, shipping sources said on Tuesday.

The boardings -- reported by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) in a circular to members -- prompted some bunker operators and shipowners in Singapore to cut back the number of times they refuel close to Indonesian waters, they said.

"There are some independents who are reluctant to bunker on the western side. They prefer the eastern side where there is greater international waters," one bunker industry source said.

Most ship refueling -- or bunkering -- takes place within Singapore's port waters. But the volume of bunkering outside port limits has been growing in recent years as a way to avoid port- related charges.

Bunkering outside port limits does not break any laws, but means that the trade is not regulated.

Indonesia bans refueling of ships in its waters, unless it is done in designated refueling ports, the shipping sources said.

They said there were around 10 instances in July when ships have been boarded by Indonesia authorities near the Nipa Lighthouse, which is in the narrow stretch of water between western Singapore and eastern Indonesia.

The sources said the Indonesian authorities alleged that the ships were in Indonesian waters. The sources said the ships were in international waters.

They said the SSA informed its members of the incidents in a July 8 circular, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

"This is to inform all members that we have received a fax from a member informing us that when performing transfer of fuel oil at "Out Port Limit West" today, both bunkering and receiving vessels were boarded by the Indonesian Authority," the circular said.

"There were also attempts made by the authority to arrest both Captains and to tow both vessels to Indonesia," it said.

The Indonesian office of Sea Communications (SEACOM) was not immediately available for comment.

But in December last year it issued a notice to shippers to stop bunkering operations near Nipa Lighthouse in waters it considered Indonesian.

Bunker industry sources said if such checks persisted, the amount of refueling that took place outside Singapore would fall, hurting bunker fuel businesses in Singapore -- the world's biggest bunkering center.

Offshore refueling has been rising in recent years as a way for shipowners to avoid Singapore port charges. Savings can amount to US$2,000 for each refueling stop.

The volume of refueling outside Singapore doubled to about three million tons in 1996 compared with the previous year, traders said.

In 1996, vessels calling at Singapore bought 16.9 million tons of bunker fuel, a three percent drop from a year earlier, official figures show.